Lilliana awoke to beams of sunlight lancing their way through her incomplete thatch roof. Ugh, im going to have to get Johnathon to fix that. She thought.

Jonathon was the town’s chronicler, his job was to record histories and send and receive messages, and he was also Lillian’s husband.

She stood up and began to dress.

Lilliana was of a slight build with pale skin and long dark brown hair.

She dressed in a conservative dress before tying her hair into a ponytail and leaving the house.

She stepped out the door and into the morning sun, it kissed her skin and wrapped her in a welcoming warm embrace.

“Huuh.” She let out a small sigh of contentment before continuing down the path.

She lived in the town of Fallcrest, a small town on the border of the kingdom of Belandier and the plains of Belador.

Her shoes clacked against the cobblestone path as she merged onto the main road. Walking down the street toward the town library.

“Oh Lilliana.” Said a plump elderly woman, her name was Mirabelle and she was the local town gossip.

“Yes Mirabelle.” Lilliana said while smiling sweetly, she may dislike this woman but she needed to keep up appearances, being an outsider she was already looked at with controversy, no need to add more fuel to the fire.

“I didn’t see Johnathon come home last night.” She said

Oh that bitch, Lilliana knew where she was going with this.

“Oh you know how it is long hours spent copying texts and all that nonsense.”

“Are you sure that’s all he is doing?” The old woman said with wry smile.

“Yes I am quite sure, I’m on my way to see him right now as it happens.” She said a little more tersely than was polite, she just couldn’t help it, this woman really got on her nerves.

“Well I won’t keep you, I just wanted to tell you I saw your children heading off toward the north east field with the baker’s boys.” She said while re-entering her house.

The baker boys were the three sons of Robert Baker and Heidi Baker, they were all friends of her son Damian, an she was quite sure that the eldest, Joshua Baker had a crush on her daughter, Lyra.

She daydreamed for the rest of the walk how cute a couple Lyra and Joshua would make, stopping briefly to pick up some groceries at the market place before heading directly toward the library.

The Fallcrest Library was a large wooden building, built in much the same style as a church, it was a long rectangular building with an attic room above in the shape of a steeple.

She walked purposefully down the aisles of books before climbing the stairs toward the writing room. What she found caused a frown to form on her otherwise pretty face.

Her husband was a thin, bookish man with a hawk nose and thick dark hair and eyebrows and he was currently slumped over his writing desk, snoring loudly. It seemed he had once again chosen to sleep with his books instead of with her.

She moved up to the desk, sitting on it and crossing her legs, moving her dress up a bit to show slightly more leg than was proper, only after this did she wake up her husband with a poke to the cheek.

“Wakey, Wakey dear.” She said sweetly.

“Huh, oh Lilliana. What time is it?” He said while yawing.

“It is noon, you slept in the library again.” She said in a cross voice. He suddenly realised what had happened and his face contorted into a contrite look before speaking again.

“I am so sorry Lilliana.” He said while grasping her hand. “It won’t happen again.”

“That’s what you said last time.” She said dejectedly while pulling her hand away.

“I mean it this time, I’m finally done.” He said gesturing grandly toward a book as thick as his head.

“And what is it.” She said pointing toward the book. “It better be good seeming as you have chosen it over you own wife the last few nights.” She said with a frown.

“Oh it is.” He said not noticing her mood. “This is my magnum opus, the Codex Millitarium Belandier, a complete military history of our fair kingdom.” He spent the next 20 minutes droning on about several of the great battles of history. Lilliana knew better than to interrupt him when he got like this. She just sat and smiled while waiting for him to finish.

“Anyway darling.” She said after he was done. “The thatch is patchy again, I need you to fix i-.“ She never got to finish her sentence, she was cut off by the sound of bells ringing loud over the village.

Her husband’s face paled and she began to feel dread deep in her bones.

“Honey what do those bells mean?” She said worriedly.

“Those are alarm bells, it would seem we are under attack.” He said looking fearfully out to the horizon.